German Prospects for the NHL Draft

[Maverick41]

If Mannheim is lucky, he'll really jumpstart the Grivas.

For that they would all have to play.
If the boxscores and the lineups for this past weekend are correct, Rihards did not play at all. Maybe he is injured.
In the first game Willhöft was listed as playing with Gustavs Griva and Nikita Tschwanow and he had 1 assist.
In the second game his listed linemates were Nikolas Biggins and Felix Kerbel and he again had 1 assist.
I will watch one of the games later to see how he looked.

 

[Maverick41]

After watching Sunday's game vs. Dresden I still like Willhöft, but it also showed just how much of an advantage it is when you have more older players at this level. Mannheim was clearly more talented and they did win, but they were not able to really dominate against a more mature very disruptive Dresden team.
Willhöft's speed and skill will always make him dangerous at any level, but he is at a physical disadvantage most of the time playing against guys his own age, playing against opponents 2-3 years older will always be a challenge, especially when the rest of the team is dealing with a similar problem.
He did play on the pk but I don't think I saw him on the pp. He is not necessarily a great pk player, but a very dangerous one. He will put pressure on the opposing power play by closing gap quickly and having an active stick, but shot blocking is not really his thing. On the other hand he is the last guy you want to turn the puck over against, and send him on a breakaway short handed.

I did not focus as much on Gustavs Griva, but he was rather invisible for most of the game. But every now and then he showed some flashes of skill that were really impressive. One very nice play lead to an assist for him, as he showed great patience on a 2-on-1 before finding Panov with a nice little pass for a shot into an open net.
Obviously this was just a single game, but it looked to me like Griva has been changing his style a little, getting used to a more physical play.

Dresden is one of the better teams in this round this season and I am curious to see how things will turn out next weekend when they are playing last ranked Augsburg twice.

EDIT: One more thing about Willhöft: He has not had many practices with the team so far and played with different linemates in both games. It was very clear that both he and his linemates in the second game were not yet familiar with each other. There were several miscommunications and misunderstandings, where either Willhöft or one of his teammates were not where the other expected them to be. This should improve with time.

 

[Maverick41]

I'll start updating my rankings this weekend or early next week.
I'm done with the preliminary changes for most of the lists, but still have to do a bit of fine tuning before I post them.

 

[pgfan66]

I'll start updating my rankings this weekend or early next week.
I'm done with the preliminary changes for most of the lists, but still have to do a bit of fine tuning before I post them.

Looking forward to it!

 

[Bombay66]

Veit Oswald had a very good world juniors with 1.25p per game. If he keeps scoring and getting some toi at Munich, he seems to be legit candidate for the nhl draft as an overaged

 

[Vandalay Industries]

Veit Oswald had a very good world juniors with 1.25p per game. If he keeps scoring and getting some toi at Munich, he seems to be legit candidate for the nhl draft as an overaged

It's great that he is coming along so nicely, but there is no way an NHL club would draft a third year available German without him playing quite a dominant role in DEL.

 

[Maverick41]

It's great that he is coming along so nicely, but there is no way an NHL club would draft a third year available German without him playing quite a dominant role in DEL.

Yeah, I have to agree that it seems unlikely. A camp invite I could totally see happening, but a draft pick, even a late one, seems like a waste.
Sumpf, depending on the rest of the season with Moncton, seems like a more likely candidate.

Both Szuber and Tiefensee, who were picked as overagers recently, played bigger roles on their teams at the time.
Oswald will have a hard time establishing himself in the same way on a stacked team in Munich.

 

[pgfan66]

Agree with the posters above but if Oswald had already been drafted, nobody would be shocked right now. He probably should’ve been drafted, but given that he wasn’t, it’s unlikely to happen in the future.

 

[Maverick41]

I updated the rankings for 2024, 2025 and 2026. I will update the others either this evening or tomorrow, depending on how tired I'll be.
Except the Overager and Free Agent lists. Those are not ready yet and will probably take me until the end of the week to finish.

Overall, I was not able to watch as many games (from as many different teams) as I had hoped to, so I am working off some very small sample sizes combined with stat watching for a number of these guys.

Also, I hope I did not forget any obvious prospects for 2024 and 2025, because at one point I accidentally deleted some of my work in progress on those rankings.
I am pretty sure I got everything back in order, but I may have overlooked someone. So, if any of you notice a glaring omission, please let me know.

 

[Maverick41]

I finished updating the lists for 2027, 2028 and 2029. Those will be the last ones for today, I will continue tomorrow.

 

[pgfan66]

I updated the rankings for 2024, 2025 and 2026. I will update the others either this evening or tomorrow, depending on how tired I'll be.
Except the Overager and Free Agent lists. Those are not ready yet and will probably take me until the end of the week to finish.

Overall, I was not able to watch as many games (from as many different teams) as I had hoped to, so I am working off some very small sample sizes combined with stat watching for a number of these guys.

Also, I hope I did not forget any obvious prospects for 2024 and 2025, because at one point I accidentally deleted some of my work in progress on those rankings.
I am pretty sure I got everything back in order, but I may have overlooked someone. So, if any of you notice a glaring omission, please let me know.

Appreciate the work, as always! A few thoughts:

I like that you have Merkl as high as you do, although Merkl being #1 says more about this draft class than it does about him. Personally, I really don't think I see NHL potential in anyone from that group. The way I see it is probably your top 5 + Sager, Schwarz, Seidl as the top 8, followed by a big drop-off. Not really sure about the order. Merkl doesn't have enough skill, Mayer doesn't have enough sense, Tropmann is too small, Pul and Vinzens are meh, and I don't think guys like Schütz or Kerbel even belong in this conversation. (I haven't seen Maul much, so excluding him there.)

I mostly agree with your 2025 list, though. I'd just add Kaiser to the top 12 to make it a top 13 of potential NHL prospects. Lewandowski has to work on his pace (physically and mentally), the Grivas have been a little disappointing, Willhöft was disappointing in Sweden, Zwickl needs to learn to work hard both ways and consistently – and so on. A lot can happen in a year and a half, but I like the upside of that group.

 

[Maverick41]

Appreciate the work, as always! A few thoughts:

I like that you have Merkl as high as you do, although Merkl being #1 says more about this draft class than it does about him. Personally, I really don't think I see NHL potential in anyone from that group. The way I see it is probably your top 5 + Sager, Schwarz, Seidl as the top 8, followed by a big drop-off. Not really sure about the order. Merkl doesn't have enough skill, Mayer doesn't have enough sense, Tropmann is too small, Pul and Vinzens are meh, and I don't think guys like Schütz or Kerbel even belong in this conversation. (I haven't seen Maul much, so excluding him there.)

I mostly agree with your 2025 list, though. I'd just add Kaiser to the top 12 to make it a top 13 of potential NHL prospects. Lewandowski has to work on his pace (physically and mentally), the Grivas have been a little disappointing, Willhöft was disappointing in Sweden, Zwickl needs to learn to work hard both ways and consistently – and so on. A lot can happen in a year and a half, but I like the upside of that group.

I don't have time to get into every player right now, but just a quick explanation why Kerbel is maybe a bit higher on my list than he should be.
I agree that overall there is not really any NHL talent for the 2024 draft in Germany and that leads to a lot of guys being very close and basically interchangeable. What I like about Kerbel is his motor and the consistency of his effort (at least when I have watchend him). He may not be the most skilled, but you always know what you get from him. On the pro level I see him as a potential Nico Krämmer or Samuel Soramies type of player, which I like.
Also, initially I had Sager and Seidl ahead of Schütz. Then I changed it again.

Really appreciate the feedback, thanks.

 

[Bombay66]

I updated the rankings for 2024, 2025 and 2026. I will update the others either this evening or tomorrow, depending on how tired I'll be.
Except the Overager and Free Agent lists. Those are not ready yet and will probably take me until the end of the week to finish.

Overall, I was not able to watch as many games (from as many different teams) as I had hoped to, so I am working off some very small sample sizes combined with stat watching for a number of these guys.

Also, I hope I did not forget any obvious prospects for 2024 and 2025, because at one point I accidentally deleted some of my work in progress on those rankings.
I am pretty sure I got everything back in order, but I may have overlooked someone. So, if any of you notice a glaring omission, please let me know.

Great work as always!
I do not have comments on specific players but from my perspective the depth of the 2007 class maybe is a little bit overhyped in general. With the potential depth of A and B ranked prospects, I really do not understand why especially the U17 (2007) is still getting hammered on international level.
Really sad that we do not have the U18 Juniors on the highest level in 2024 with some of the 2007s propsects, I guess Lewandowski, Händel, Willhöft will make it for the Div1 with the 2006 class as they already are within the U18.

U17 (2007) in November 2023

10.11.2023 | 15:30 Uhr | Deutschland – Frankreich 1:3 (Tor: Kose)

11.11.2023 | 19:30 Uhr | Schweiz – Deutschland 7:4 (Tore: Kose, R. Griva, Brandt, G. Griva)

12.11.2023 | 11:00 Uhr | Slowakei – Deutschland 4:3 n.P. (Tore: Warnecke, Kessler, Schneider)


U16 (2008) with Krestan and many other B ranked players even worse

26.12.2023 | 16:00 Uhr | Deutschland – Tschechien 0:6

28.12.2023 | 18:30 Uhr | Deutschland – Slowakei 3:6 (Tore: Kottner, Schlager, Schatz)

29.12.2023 | 15:00 Uhr | Finnland – Deutschland 7:0

30.12.2023 | 14:30 Uhr | Schweiz – Deutschland 7:2 (Tore: Krestan, Schatz)

I know that we have to take tactics and coaching into consideration on international level, but it doesnt look good in comparison with the top level which A and B should be, if you want to say it in a polite way.

Please dont misunderstand it, I totally agree on your specific and individual player rankings, just the outcome on international level does not reflect it yet.

 

[pgfan66]

Great work as always!
I do not have comments on specific players but from my perspective the depth of the 2007 class maybe is a little bit overhyped in general. With the potential depth of A and B ranked prospects, I really do not understand why especially the U17 (2007) is still getting hammered on international level.
Really sad that we do not have the U18 Juniors on the highest level in 2024 with some of the 2007s propsects, I guess Lewandowski, Händel, Willhöft will make it for the Div1 with the 2006 class as they already are within the U18.

U17 (2007) in November 2023

10.11.2023 | 15:30 Uhr | Deutschland – Frankreich 1:3 (Tor: Kose)

11.11.2023 | 19:30 Uhr | Schweiz – Deutschland 7:4 (Tore: Kose, R. Griva, Brandt, G. Griva)

12.11.2023 | 11:00 Uhr | Slowakei – Deutschland 4:3 n.P. (Tore: Warnecke, Kessler, Schneider)


U16 (2008) with Krestan and many other B ranked players even worse

26.12.2023 | 16:00 Uhr | Deutschland – Tschechien 0:6

28.12.2023 | 18:30 Uhr | Deutschland – Slowakei 3:6 (Tore: Kottner, Schlager, Schatz)

29.12.2023 | 15:00 Uhr | Finnland – Deutschland 7:0

30.12.2023 | 14:30 Uhr | Schweiz – Deutschland 7:2 (Tore: Krestan, Schatz)

I know that we have to take tactics and coaching into consideration on international level, but it doesnt look good in comparison with the top level which A and B should be, if you want to say it in a polite way.

Please dont misunderstand it, I totally agree on your specific and individual player rankings, just the outcome on international level does not reflect it yet.

I don’t entirely disagree. The U17s are overhyped every year. But: recent games for both the U17 and U18 teams have been quite a bit closer than what we’re used to from past years. Losing 4-3 in a shootout to Slovakia and 7-4 to Switzerland – whatever. Germany lost to Slovakia like 9-0 every time last year.

More importantly, though, the recent U18 results were encouraging – and the roster featured a bunch of 07s. A 3-0 loss to Finland is fine, a 4-3 loss to Slovakia is fine, and then they beat Slovakia 2-1. Bleicher, Späth, Lewandowski, Händel, Schneider and Willhöft all had points in those games.

Yes, I’d rather see them win those games, but what the 07s have been doing is encouraging nonetheless.

 

[zecke26]

I finished updating the lists for 2027, 2028 and 2029. Those will be the last ones for today, I will continue tomorrow.

You forgot Rafael Kas on your list. 2011, Rosenheim U13/15 as well as FC Bayern U13. Multisports talent, Son of former Tennis pro Christopher Kas.

Rafael Kas at eliteprospects.com

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Rafael Kas, 2011-02-28 Germany. Most recently in the Germany U15 with Starbulls Rosenheim U15. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

 

[Maverick41]

You forgot Rafael Kas on your list. 2011, Rosenheim U13/15 as well as FC Bayern U13. Multisports talent, Son of former Tennis pro Christopher Kas.

Rafael Kas at eliteprospects.com

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Rafael Kas, 2011-02-28 Germany. Most recently in the Germany U15 with Starbulls Rosenheim U15. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

Thanks for pointing him out. I must have just missed him. The one game of Rosenheim U15 I watched, he did not play in, but on his stats alone he probably should have made the list and pretty high, too. I think I will add him later, but first I want to try to watch at least one game with him. I think I have a stream for at least one such game available, but I need to double check.

I will finish the lists for 2030 and so on today, but it could get late. Probably another 2 or 3 hours before I can get around to it.

 

[Maverick41]

After watching one game of Rafael Kas, I have decided to add him to my 2029 list.
There is a lot to like from what I saw, and he is definitely somebody to keep an eye on.
It's not often you can watch a player on a team losing so badly, stand out this much, especially when most players on the ice are two years older.

 

[MrGuyPerson]

I updated the rankings for 2024, 2025 and 2026. I will update the others either this evening or tomorrow, depending on how tired I'll be.
Except the Overager and Free Agent lists. Those are not ready yet and will probably take me until the end of the week to finish.

Overall, I was not able to watch as many games (from as many different teams) as I had hoped to, so I am working off some very small sample sizes combined with stat watching for a number of these guys.

Also, I hope I did not forget any obvious prospects for 2024 and 2025, because at one point I accidentally deleted some of my work in progress on those rankings.
I am pretty sure I got everything back in order, but I may have overlooked someone. So, if any of you notice a glaring omission, please let me know.

First I would like to say thank you for the effort you put into making these lists. Awesome stuff.

Second I would like to note that I am excited to see a couple of the guys you have listed at the top for 2027 draft. Penkin and Schwarz have really done well at u17.

Max Penkin 24 GP 43 pts 21g 22a
Jonas Schwarz 12 GP 20 pts 6g 14a

Not sure if their are tiers to Germany u15, but I see a 2010 with very impressive stats. And a couple 2011s with promising stats. It would be helpful to know if any of these are padded by inferior competition level. Like if they are in lower division or something

Colin Simon 2010 - EKU Mannheim U15 - 12gp 60pts 32g 28a - a cool 5pts/gm

Finn Bielmeier 2011 - Deggendorfer SC U15 - 8 GP 22 pts 12g 10a

Till Schwitters - EC Hannover Indians U15 -
5gp 12 pts 6g 6a

If it is the highest competition level Colin Simon's numbers seem pretty impressive

 

[Maverick41]

First I would like to say thank you for the effort you put into making these lists. Awesome stuff.

Second I would like to note that I am excited to see a couple of the guys you have listed at the top for 2027 draft. Penkin and Schwarz have really done well at u17.

Max Penkin 24 GP 43 pts 21g 22a
Jonas Schwarz 12 GP 20 pts 6g 14a

Not sure if their are tiers to Germany u15, but I see a 2010 with very impressive stats. And a couple 2011s with promising stats. It would be helpful to know if any of these are padded by inferior competition level. Like if they are in lower division or something

Colin Simon 2010 - EKU Mannheim U15 - 12gp 60pts 32g 28a - a cool 5pts/gm

Finn Bielmeier 2011 - Deggendorfer SC U15 - 8 GP 22 pts 12g 10a

Till Schwitters - EC Hannover Indians U15 -
5gp 12 pts 6g 6a

If it is the highest competition level Colin Simon's numbers seem pretty impressive

About the three U15 players you mentioned I'll try to provide some context.

Colin Simon is playing in the second tier of U15 hockey in the region of Baden Württemberg. The level of competition is significantly lower than 1st tier in the same region.
He is playing for one of the top teams in that tier, and his numbers are still impressive, but I only have him on my extended list. If he makes a move to one of the bigger clubs in the region (Adler Mannheim, Bietigheim, etc.) we would see if he can produce at the next level. Others who put up insane numbers at this level have tried and failed, but some have done quite well.

Till Schwitters is playing in the top tier of hockey in northern Germany, but this is by far the weakest region overall, and great numbers here have meant very little in the past.
There have been some cases where kids slowly developed into players who could possibly make it to the DEL at one point, but those are very rare.
Schwitters, like a few others, will probably have to look for a way to find stronger competition if he has any ambition beyond 3rd tier pro hockey.

Finn Bielmeier is for me, at this point, the most interesting of the three. He is playing in Bavaria one the two strongest regions of German hockey, and definitely the deepest.
To better provide context for the situation of Bielmeier, I have to explain how the competition works.
At the U15 level this season the top 20 teams in Bavaria played a qualification round in 4 groups of 5 teams. The top 2 teams of each group would be joined by the the top 2 teams from the Baden Württemberg region (in this case Adler Mannheim and Schwenningen). The bottom three teams of groups 1 and 2 were joined by Freiburg from Baden Württemberg to form one of two groups for the so called placement round. The bottom three of groups 3 and 4 were joined by Bietigheim (Baden Württemberg) to form that second group for the placement round.

Deggendorf, the team Bielmeier is playing for, finished 3rd in group 3 in the qualification round and therefore missed out on the top level of the competition. They are playing in group 2 of the placement round, but even that is stronger competition than both Schwitters and Simon are facing.
Unfortunately there seem to be no stats available from the qualification round. It would have been interesting to see how he did specifically against the two top teams of the group Landshut and Straubing. Looking at his game logs for the placement round, it's not surprising that he scored a lot more against the bottom feeders of the group, but he scored at least a point in every game and doing this at his age is impressive regardless. He is someone I'll keep an eye on.

I hope this is helpful in some way. The way junior hockey is structured in Germany (especially U15 and younger) can be very confusing, and it often changes from season to season.
I think I got the different tiers and how things work (particularly in Bavaria) correct. If anybody spots a mistake, please let me know.

 

[MrGuyPerson]

About the three U15 players you mentioned I'll try to provide some context.

Colin Simon is playing in the second tier of U15 hockey in the region of Baden Württemberg. The level of competition is significantly lower than 1st tier in the same region.
He is playing for one of the top teams in that tier, and his numbers are still impressive, but I only have him on my extended list. If he makes a move to one of the bigger clubs in the region (Adler Mannheim, Bietigheim, etc.) we would see if he can produce at the next level. Others who put up insane numbers at this level have tried and failed, but some have done quite well.

Till Schwitters is playing in the top tier of hockey in northern Germany, but this is by far the weakest region overall, and great numbers here have meant very little in the past.
There have been some cases where kids slowly developed into players who could possibly make it to the DEL at one point, but those are very rare.
Schwitters, like a few others, will probably have to look for a way to find stronger competition if he has any ambition beyond 3rd tier pro hockey.

Finn Bielmeier is for me, at this point, the most interesting of the three. He is playing in Bavaria one the two strongest regions of German hockey, and definitely the deepest.
To better provide context for the situation of Bielmeier, I have to explain how the competition works.
At the U15 level this season the top 20 teams in Bavaria played a qualification round in 4 groups of 5 teams. The top 2 teams of each group would be joined by the the top 2 teams from the Baden Württemberg region (in this case Adler Mannheim and Schwenningen). The bottom three teams of groups 1 and 2 were joined by Freiburg from Baden Württemberg to form one of two groups for the so called placement round. The bottom three of groups 3 and 4 were joined by Bietigheim (Baden Württemberg) to form that second group for the placement round.

Deggendorf, the team Bielmeier is playing for, finished 3rd in group 3 in the qualification round and therefore missed out on the top level of the competition. They are playing in group 2 of the placement round, but even that is stronger competition than both Schwitters and Simon are facing.
Unfortunately there seem to be no stats available from the qualification round. It would have been interesting to see how he did specifically against the two top teams of the group Landshut and Straubing. Looking at his game logs for the placement round, it's not surprising that he scored a lot more against the bottom feeders of the group, but he scored at least a point in every game and doing this at his age is impressive regardless. He is someone I'll keep an eye on.

I hope this is helpful in some way. The way junior hockey is structured in Germany (especially U15 and younger) can be very confusing, and it often changes from season to season.
I think I got the different tiers and how things work (particularly in Bavaria) correct. If anybody spots a mistake, please let me know.

Thank you for the awesome insight. Love learning how youth works in Germany. I'm hopeful another reichel/peterka level prospect comes out of the 07, 09 group.

Penkin has very impressive stats on paper. Schwarz also looks impressive. Are they in better divisions as well? And would you say they advanced relative to the rest of their age group? And do think they have potential relative reichel/peterka ---> Stützle

 

[Maverick41]

Thank you for the awesome insight. Love learning how youth works in Germany. I'm hopeful another reichel/peterka level prospect comes out of the 07, 09 group.

Penkin has very impressive stats on paper. Schwarz also looks impressive. Are they in better divisions as well? And would you say they advanced relative to the rest of their age group? And do think they have potential relative reichel/peterka ---> Stützle

Penkin and Schwarz are both playing the best competition available to them. I am still desperately looking for more opportunities to watch Schwarz play, but both of them are looking pretty good right now. However, I don't really see anyone getting to that Reichel/Peterka level, let alone Stützle.
3-4 years out from the draft (sometimes even just 2 years) there are almost always a couple of players that look like maybe they can get there, but so far it has not panned out.
The 07s are/were our best chance and a handful looked really promising a year or two ago, but none of them will likely reach that Peterka/Reichel tier, but a few of them could at least get close-ish, and it still looks like we will get a solid number of pro players from this group.

Back to Penkin and Schwarz:
I really need to see more from Schwarz to get a better grasp of his potential, but I am hopeful about Penkin, just not to the point where I think he will be the next Peterka, for now I see him more like the next Florian Elias. Danny Penkin, who I assume is his younger brother, is also very intriguing but he would be eligible in 2030, so that is a long way away.
The weird thing about Penkin is that he has rarely wowed me, when I have watched him, but he does so many things right and just gets it done. That's not to say he isn't skilled he just doesn't have that combination of dynamic skating and fancy stickhandling we saw from the likes of Stützle, Peterka or Reichel, that really pops into your eye.

I mean reasonably you can look at the next two drafts and have a basic idea what kind of talent you will get in those and as I said before, even the really strong looking 07 group will likely not have any Peterka/Reichel level prospects. The 06s have nothing, maybe we will be lucky to get a couple of late bloomers that can at least make an impact in the DEL.
For the two drafts after that I am just beginning to get an idea what sort of potential these kids might have. The 2008 group looks solid at this point with Krestan and Greil probably showing the greatest promise. This group also seems to have a decent number of promising defensemen. The 09s are still mostly a mystery to me, and while I am beginning to see more and more of them, I am not yet sure what expectations I should have of this group. There are so many of them I have not seen at all, or at least not really paid much attention to.
There could easily be a handful of players I don't even have on my radar yet, who could be really good.

I wish I could just full time watch these kids, but I got to work, too and that definitely limits the comprehensiveness of my rankings/lists.
If this forum is still around when I retire, look out.

 

[MrGuyPerson]

Penkin and Schwarz are both playing the best competition available to them. I am still desperately looking for more opportunities to watch Schwarz play, but both of them are looking pretty good right now. However, I don't really see anyone getting to that Reichel/Peterka level, let alone Stützle.
3-4 years out from the draft (sometimes even just 2 years) there are almost always a couple of players that look like maybe they can get there, but so far it has not panned out.
The 07s are/were our best chance and a handful looked really promising a year or two ago, but none of them will likely reach that Peterka/Reichel tier, but a few of them could at least get close-ish, and it still looks like we will get a solid number of pro players from this group.

Back to Penkin and Schwarz:
I really need to see more from Schwarz to get a better grasp of his potential, but I am hopeful about Penkin, just not to the point where I think he will be the next Peterka, for now I see him more like the next Florian Elias. Danny Penkin, who I assume is his younger brother, is also very intriguing but he would be eligible in 2030, so that is a long way away.
The weird thing about Penkin is that he has rarely wowed me, when I have watched him, but he does so many things right and just gets it done. That's not to say he isn't skilled he just doesn't have that combination of dynamic skating and fancy stickhandling we saw from the likes of Stützle, Peterka or Reichel, that really pops into your eye.

I mean reasonably you can look at the next two drafts and have a basic idea what kind of talent you will get in those and as I said before, even the really strong looking 07 group will likely not have any Peterka/Reichel level prospects. The 06s have nothing, maybe we will be lucky to get a couple of late bloomers that can at least make an impact in the DEL.
For the two drafts after that I am just beginning to get an idea what sort of potential these kids might have. The 2008 group looks solid at this point with Krestan and Greil probably showing the greatest promise. This group also seems to have a decent number of promising defensemen. The 09s are still mostly a mystery to me, and while I am beginning to see more and more of them, I am not yet sure what expectations I should have of this group. There are so many of them I have not seen at all, or at least not really paid much attention to.
There could easily be a handful of players I don't even have on my radar yet, who could be really good.

I wish I could just full time watch these kids, but I got to work, too and that definitely limits the comprehensiveness of my rankings/lists.
If this forum is still around when I retire, look out.

I appreciate the insight it is super helpful. How is Lewandowski tracking compared to peterka/reichel? I see that he is tied for the lead on the u18 national team in points and is a +1. That seems impressive since he is underaged and the played tied for the lead in points with him is -4

 

[Maverick41]

I appreciate the insight it is super helpful. How is Lewandowski tracking compared to peterka/reichel? I see that he is tied for the lead on the u18 national team in points and is a +1. That seems impressive since he is underaged and the played tied for the lead in points with him is -4

Lewandowski is undoubtedly a very talented player, but he might struggle in higher tempo environments. He has some Draisaitl lite elements to his game. Great vision and passing ability. He also protects the puck fairly well, although he needs to get much better at it if he wants to overcome what is probably his biggest weakness. Very much unlike Draisaitl he doesn't seem to processing the game at the necessary speed to make it at the top level.
He has played a few pro games in the Oberliga this season, hopefully that experience will help his progress, because the junior level does not seem to be posing much of a challenge for him.

At this point Lewandowski is one of three guys, the others being Willhöft and Händel, who might get closer to Peterka/Reichel than anyone has since the 2020 draft. I have them ahead of say Julian Lutz, but not by that much for now. They are definitely closer to Lutz than to Peterka/Reichel. The U18 WJC should give us a better understanding of where they stand compared to the top talent of 2007. I feel like they have been losing some ground over the last season in particular. Or maybe I have just been overrating them before.
I am still a massive fan of our 07s, but it just shows how insanely unusual the stretch with Seider and then Stützle, Peterka and Reichel was. That was an absolute outlier and it might be a long time until we get even a single prospect of that level again.

I love looking for one, but at the moment I don't see anyone on the horizon.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Amazing work as always Mav.



I thought I’d stop by and give some thoughts on some of our future prospects.



Grivas

Such a shame their progress hasn’t been as rapid as we hoped. There is definitely potential there for both, particularly Richards but I don’t think we see them as guaranteed draft selections anymore for next season. Just goes to show you that the jump from U17 to U20 is still quite a leap for even the most talented kids we have. Here’s hoping we see them both crush it next year and prove me wrong.



Lewandowski

Still tracking very well, I wonder if we could see him leave Germany and try his hand at CHL hockey in Danada or maybe he can convince a team in the SHL or Allsvenskan to play him against men next year. This is assuming of course he isn’t given a full time spot with legitimate playing time in the DEL next year. He is a very smart player who prefers to slow down the pace of play because he isn’t the best skater. I hope we see him continue his play, we could see him be a second or third round pick if all goes well!



Willhöft

You all know how much I love watching him play - he couldn’t produce in the Swedish junior leagues unfortunately, and although he has looked better in the DNL, it’s still a disappointment he didn’t work out in Sweden. This is a kid I expect to go into the CHL and I hope he goes to a good program where he gets top-6 ice time and PP time. He is one of our most promising offensive talents in a while, so I hope he can continue to work and pull it all together.



Bleicher

I think he is amazing and still expect him to be a legitimate option to get drafted. He has so much potential as a defensive player, I would just like to see him take more initiative offensively. At the very least, I think he’ll be a stalwart on our national teams for years to come.



Händel

Where as Bleicher i like his defensive potential, Händel is the opposite. I really like his offensive game, so elusive and confident with the puck. Thinking a step ahead and making plays from the backend. I really hope he can see some mens league games next year and maybe we see him Go CHL? I think he would thrive there.



Schneider

All he does is score, and has done it at every level so far with good consistency. Still not sure what to think of him. Just one of those guys you flip flop on until their draft year to see how they preform. I just hope he is in a position to show he can produce next year wherever he goes.



Späth

Continues to grow on me, impressive what he is doing against men at his age. I know the quality of completion isn’t great but it should be easier to ease his way into Mens leagues next year. I think he is the wild card among the 2007 borns. Could surprise us next year.



I don’t think anyone deserves to be drafted this year among the first time eligibles. Mayer I think has the best chance due to previous notoriety, and we may be surprise like with Bicker last year. I think Veit Oswald has a chance of going this year because of his WJC performance and speed. Maybe a team thinks they can turn him into a bottom-6 forward in the NHL, which I think is reasonable.

 

[Maverick41]

Amazing work as always Mav.



I thought I’d stop by and give some thoughts on some of our future prospects.



Grivas

Such a shame their progress hasn’t been as rapid as we hoped. There is definitely potential there for both, particularly Richards but I don’t think we see them as guaranteed draft selections anymore for next season. Just goes to show you that the jump from U17 to U20 is still quite a leap for even the most talented kids we have. Here’s hoping we see them both crush it next year and prove me wrong.



Lewandowski

Still tracking very well, I wonder if we could see him leave Germany and try his hand at CHL hockey in Danada or maybe he can convince a team in the SHL or Allsvenskan to play him against men next year. This is assuming of course he isn’t given a full time spot with legitimate playing time in the DEL next year. He is a very smart player who prefers to slow down the pace of play because he isn’t the best skater. I hope we see him continue his play, we could see him be a second or third round pick if all goes well!



Willhöft

You all know how much I love watching him play - he couldn’t produce in the Swedish junior leagues unfortunately, and although he has looked better in the DNL, it’s still a disappointment he didn’t work out in Sweden. This is a kid I expect to go into the CHL and I hope he goes to a good program where he gets top-6 ice time and PP time. He is one of our most promising offensive talents in a while, so I hope he can continue to work and pull it all together.



Bleicher

I think he is amazing and still expect him to be a legitimate option to get drafted. He has so much potential as a defensive player, I would just like to see him take more initiative offensively. At the very least, I think he’ll be a stalwart on our national teams for years to come.



Händel

Where as Bleicher i like his defensive potential, Händel is the opposite. I really like his offensive game, so elusive and confident with the puck. Thinking a step ahead and making plays from the backend. I really hope he can see some mens league games next year and maybe we see him Go CHL? I think he would thrive there.



Schneider

All he does is score, and has done it at every level so far with good consistency. Still not sure what to think of him. Just one of those guys you flip flop on until their draft year to see how they preform. I just hope he is in a position to show he can produce next year wherever he goes.



Späth

Continues to grow on me, impressive what he is doing against men at his age. I know the quality of completion isn’t great but it should be easier to ease his way into Mens leagues next year. I think he is the wild card among the 2007 borns. Could surprise us next year.



I don’t think anyone deserves to be drafted this year among the first time eligibles. Mayer I think has the best chance due to previous notoriety, and we may be surprise like with Bicker last year. I think Veit Oswald has the best chance of going this year because of his WJC performance and speed. Maybe a team thinks they can turn him into a bottom-6 forward in the NHL, which I think is reasonable.

Thanks for sharing. I just want to comment on a few of them.

Bleicher and Späth:
They are the two I have not seen recently. I think it was October or maybe early November for both. I need to catch some games of them soon. I always liked Bleicher, but have also been a bit hesitant about him to, probably because he is still playing in Füssen. But it doesn't seem to have hurt his development.
Späth has always been going up and down in my estimation. He has some serious skill, but at times he looked too much like a puck hog out there. Like I said it has been a little while since I saw him and the last few times I did, this puck hog thing did not seem to be a problem. On the contrary his game looked much more mature. If that continues he will likely rise again.

Schneider:
I could not agree any more. I am still not sure if I'd say he has any elite skills except scoring. I absolutely expect him to get some games in the DEL and/or DEL2 next season, unless he decides to leave the country.

Händel:
I think you are spot on about his offensive potential.
While he will probably struggle a little more on the defensive side of the game, I think he will still be good enough defensively not to be a liability. Last I saw he still struggles sometimes with aggressive forechecks and he gets pushed around too easily. But for me he is still my number 1 prospect of this group right now.

This year:
I don't really see why a team would use a pick on Oswald unless they have way too many picks. I would probably offer him a camp invite and if he shows some promise sign him as a free agent.
If a team uses a pick, it will probably be a 6th or 7th round pick, anything else would be a surprise.

I am still a big fan of Roman Kechter, but he won't be drafted. But I am still really happy with his development this season. I think he will be one of the prospects in the DEL that gets to stick around even when he no longer counts as a U23 player.

Imo Mayer has to continue his development and show that he can play in the DEL consistently in order to get drafted. After mostly stagnating for a while he seems to have gotten back on track somewhat. I just hope his games and his ice time don't go away.

Long term I like Merkl best, even though he will probably not get drafted. I think he is just solid all around and will be very good player in the DEL some day.